The New Arrival
by WWSmith
Summary: Or, "A Theory on the Functioning of a Time Lord's Mind in Regards to the Potential Continued Existence of Former Regeneration Personae". Warning: this story contains spoilers for endings of seasons 1 & 4 and "The Caves of Androzani". One shot.


The New Arrival

Ninth sat nervously at his place, watching the scene outside. He could hear the other Personae muttering around him and it seemed that despite their greater experience, they were just as anxious as he.

"This is going bad." Said Eighth. "Even I wasn't that worked up when I went." Ninth nodded but didn't answer.

"He'll have to do the best he can." Fifth said from across the table. He turned to Ninth. "Are you ready for this?" Ninth shrugged.

"I'll do what I can." Second nodded his head approvingly from down the table.

"That's a good lad." At least he wasn't worried. Scanning the faces, Ninth could see that Fifth and Eighth were the openly on edge. Fourth was watching closely, but hadn't said a word since the Doctor saved Willard from the radiation. Third and Sixth didn't look that concerned. Seventh was sitting back in his chair, apparently bored with proceedings. Second and First sat at the far end of the table, peaceful as ever. _They are so young_, Ninth thought. They had seen just as much as he had, but they remained the same as when they left the outside world. In a way, Ninth was glad Tenth would be joining them. He was the only one besides Eighth who lived through the Time War and this set him apart drastically. Tenth would be different of course, but at least he wouldn't be the newest Persona anymore.

Things outside came to a head. The colors of the chamber began to turn golden and the whole room glowed with a low light.

"That's your cue." Fifth said. Ninth rose from his seat and walked around the table to the center of horseshoe. As the most recent Persona, it was his job to help the newcomer make the transition from active personality to life as one of them, a ghost of a regeneration in the back of a Time Lord's mind. Eighth had done it for him, just as Seventh for Eighth and Sixth for Seventh and so on back down to the very first time when First aided Second. Ninth tried to tell himself that he was just anxious because he had never seen a regeneration from this point of view, but in his heart he knew it was more than that which set him on edge. This was all going so wrong. He could feel the pain in the Doctor's soul and the echoes of it not only himself, but the other Personae who had sympathized with and supported Tenth's decisions. _Why did it have to end like this?_ Ninth thought. He didn't realize until he arrived in this place just how lucky he'd been to regenerate in the manner he did. Although it had been unwelcome and sad and painful, Ninth had been peace with his death when he went. It was a quirk that had earned him the respect among the other Personae and gave him a particular connection with Fifth. The glow in the room began to gather in the center of the space a few feet from where Ninth was waiting.

"Oh, just get on with it." Seventh complained from the table. Sixth swatted him with his umbrella.

"Have some respect, will you? This is one of the worst deaths we've ever had."

"It certainly is." Seventh agreed angrily. "And I hope you realize it's because the fool won't let go. When it's time to go, it's time to go. No sense in dragging it out."

"I agree." Fourth said quietly, eyes not leaving the screen. "You've got you're work cut out for you, Ninth. I don't envy you."

"Quiet." Fifth broke in. "Here he comes." In the center of the room, the light condensed into particles that swarmed and moved into a vaguely human shape. As the shape became more solid, Ninth approached. He closed the distance to arms length and watched as Tenth formed. All attention shifted away from him as the other Personae became focused on keeping the Doctor from dying. Ninth tried to ignore what was going in the outside world and concentrate on his own task. Tenth had fully formed now: he stood there wide-eyed, staring off at some unknown point.

"Um… hello?" Ninth said tentatively. He moved to make eye contact with Tenth and instantly wished he hadn't. Tenth's eyes had a hollow, haunted look that made Ninth's skin crawl. He seemed lost and afraid and empty, a state Ninth was all too familiar with from his days in the Time War.

"Where… where is this?" Tenth asked in a voice utterly devoid of the enthusiasm and energy it had carried in life. It was all Ninth could do not to turn and run. He took a breath and tried to fight down the urge to get far, far away from this thing lest whatever had broken it come after him next.

"You're safe now." Ninth said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "This is… what comes after regeneration."

"After?" Tenth asked in the same dead tone.

"Yeah… you're not the Doctor anymore. You're one of the voices now, a Persona." Ninth explained.

"But I don't want to go." He pleaded in a way that made Ninth want to cry.

"I know you don't." Ninth tried. "But you have, and that part's over now."

"But…" Tenth looked around. His eyes darted from place to place like a caged animal. "But… it can't be." His breath quickened and he backed away from Ninth. "I'm sorry." Ninth said. "But it is. We all come this." He gestured to the other Personae hard at work keeping the Doctor alive.

"No…" Tenth sank to the floor as if all the despair of his last days suddenly had physical weight. Ninth stood there, at a loss for what to do and feeling useless.

"Ninth!" Fourth shouted from the table. "Do something fast – if he keeps on like this it's going to effect regeneration!" _Easy for you to say_, Ninth thought. He looked at the broken thing that was what remained of the Tenth Doctor's personality. All at once he had a mental jump to the Time War. _This is just like back then._

"Tenth," he knelt down to his level, "I know this is difficult, but this your life now. You're not dead, you've just… gone on to a different part of it." Tenth looked up, curious. Encouraged, Ninth went on: "You're still here with us. You're still yourself. You're not gone." Tenth stared at the floor for a long moment, then nodded.

"I… I wanted to keep going. I didn't want to disappear forever." Ninth stood.

"Well, if you don't want it all to end right here there's work to be done. There's a whole new life starting for us." He turned to get a view of the screen. "And it looks like we're beginning it by wreaking the TARDIS…" Tenth looked in the same direction.

"I always was good at breaking things." He stood up, and the quiet resolve that every Persona carried in their makeup fell over him masking the pain and anger and sadness as it had in those who came before. "Let's clean up the mess."

It didn't work of course. Despite Ninth's best efforts, Eleventh was irrevocably changed by the death of predecessor – too much had happened in too short a time. It was another day on a short list of days that marked the turning points of the Doctor's life. Eighth carried the biggest of these: the day the Doctor had destroyed the Time Lords and Daleks for the greater good of reality. Still, Ninth had been healed in the end by Rose. Maybe, just maybe, Eleventh would have a similar saving grace. He looked down the table at the Personae, each sitting with their masks firmly in place, and wondered what would happen if they ever came undone.

AN: The concept of the Personae was inspired by the idea of thoughts as living beings presented in the book "Meme" by Rob Cummins. It can be found a


End file.
